My middle school had some party for the 8th graders. It was pretty fun. Elementary had a little presentation for the 5th graders too. So yeah, for the most part, every stage of K-12 has a sort of ceremony.
I got some pretty shnazzy grad gifts. $105, a Best Buy gift card, a GPS for my car, TONS of college supplies, and a pack of Trojan Magnums ((my father apparently has a good sense of humor)). My mother is going to buy me any phone up to $400 too, so I'm shooting for the T-Mobile G1.
My friend got a check for $3,000. It was one of those cool big checks. I was jealous.